The Caged Bird
by The Goddess of the Moon
Summary: Robin's obsession with Slade gets the young hero into some trouble, now he can only hope the other Titans can figure out what's going on before it's too late. Rated T for violence and some blood in future chapters, NO YAOI!
1. Chapter 1

"Finally! Tofu burger here I come!" Beast Boy leapt on the couch more than happy to be home after a long time away.

"Oh Silkie! I have missed you my little Bumgorf!" Starfire sang as she twirled the small mutant moth in the air.

The titans were finally home. After defeating the Brotherhood of Evil, there was no reason they had to stay out any longer. Every other super hero had a communicator and a place to call home, so the Teen Titans no longer had to worry about them.

"Yo Beasty! Don't you dare get tofu on my remote!" Cyborg yelled as he fought Beast Boy for the remote.

"Some things just never change." Robin murmured to himself.

Raven wasted no time returning to her book that she had to leave behind, eager to read the last chapter.

Robin liked it when it was like this, everyone was happy and doing their own thing, even if it was yelling at each other. He wouldn't trade this for anything in the world.

But something still ate away at his mind. What happened to Slade? Slade wasn't there with the Brotherhood of Evil (no surprise there) and he hasn't been seen at all even when the Titans were gone.

Then again the same thing could be said about Red X, but Red X wasn't much of a threat... anymore. Slade was a huge threat. He had attacked the city more than any other villain, then just like that, he's gone. It really got to the young hero. People didn't just disappear.

"Something on your mind, Robin?" Raven asked giving him a weird look.

"No... why?" Robin asked noticing everyone was staring at him.

"You have been staring at nothing for a short amount of time." Starfire pointed out.

"I'm fine." Robin insisted. "I guess I'm just a little tired."

"Indeed. I too feel the need for rest." The Tamaranian girl agreed. Now that everyone thought of it, they were a little tired, but still excited to be home.

"I may be tired but I sure could go for a pizza!" Cyborg called out.

"Yeah me too! Extra cheesy with onions and-"

"Pepperoni, sausage, bacon-"

"No way dude! I am _not_ eating a pizza with meat! Do you know how sick that is? I been most of those animals!" Beast Boy complained.

"Why don't we have a mustard, zorkaberries and-"

"I am not having a mustard pizza." Cyborg stated as Beast Boy still fumed over the idea of eating meat.

"And I am _not_ having a meat pizza bro!" Beast Boy yelled at Cyborg.

Raven slowly lowered her book to gaze to the three who were arguing over which pizza to eat.

"Why don't we get what we usually get?" Raven suggested plainly.

"Half meaty," Cyborg started.

" Extra cheesy." Beast Boy finished as Cyborg got the phone.

Raven rolled her eyes and went back to her book. It was far more interesting than anything happening in the tower and not to mention, less annoying.

* * *

After the teenagers had mercilessly devoured the pizza, everyone realized how late it was and ended up going to bed.

But Robin still stayed up, searching for any clues that could lead him to Slade. Everyone called it an obsession, but Robin didn't like the sound of that word. It was just like Batman's fights with the Joker, whenever the Joker slipped out of Arkham Asylum, Batman was immediately back to the computer trying to chart out his next attack.

Both the Joker and Slade had something in common, they were very dangerous men who needed to be stopped.

Robin rubbed his tired eyes trying to stay focussed on the task, but he really couldn't deny how tired his body really was.

Maybe he should go take a short nap to refresh his mind?

But the more Robin thought about it, the more he worried of the fate of his friends or the city. He couldn't just relax.

Even though his mind commanded his body to stay awake, the teen's eyes weren't staying open long enough for him to do anything anyway. With reluctance, Robin went to his room and went to bed, his mind still trying to figure out where Slade had gone.

* * *

**This is my first Teen Titans story, this happens right after the Brotherhood of Evil episodes. :3 if some things are off its cuz I'm doing my own thing. I hope you all enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 2

A week had gone by, a long uneventful week. No one had threatened the city yet- no one dared to. Not with the Titans there and the stories that went around about them defeating all evil.

Robin was a little on the edge because of this, something had to go wrong soon... something always went wrong whenever he let his guard down. But while Robin was tense and uneasy, everyone else was enjoying themselves. The others were happy that they didn't have to constantly fight every other minute, it was nice to just sit on the couch and watch the T.V.

But that didn't mean no one noticed their team leader acting strange, they all knew he was stressing out about Slade, and while Starfire insisted everything was, "the okay" Robin didn't believe it, he just nodded it off to get her to leave him alone. Not only that, but Beat Boy and Cyborg pestered him and made fun of him for his 'obsession'. They might have thought they were just joking around, but Robin was tired of them making childish jokes and laughing at him. He spent more time in his room just to get away from everyone.

The only exception was Raven.

At the beginning of the week, she had asked if he was okay, and he claimed to be fine. She just went back to her book reminding him that if he needed to talk to some one she was always available, she wasn't going to waste time pestering him because she knew trying to force him to talk would only result in fighting and arguing.

Raven just wished the other's felt the same way about the subject as well. Starfire was okay because even though she was pestering Robin, she was only trying to understand, she wasn't deliberately trying to annoy him. Beast Boy and Cyborg on the other hand were joking around and intentionally making Robin mad, and that made Raven mad too.

They said he was to strict about the situation, and he needed to learn how to relax, and what they were trying to tell him wasn't all bad, until they called him names and make fake scenarios of Robin stalking Slade, and that's where Robin had snapped at them to back off and he went to his room.

Beast Boy had apparently got offended and had yelled at Robin to "chill out" and get a sense if humor. Raven had chosen to stay out of it and made a mental note to bolt Beast Boy's door shut while he was sleeping.

It was dinner time and Robin was still in his room.

"Robin is not the okay, and perhaps we should invite him to potato the couch while we watch a movie?" Starfire suggested.

"Leave him alone Starfire." Raven replied making the other girl slouch in discouragement.

"But he has been in his room all day, he would not be mad at us would he?" Starfire asked next starting at the doorway as if Robin would appear and be his usual happy self.

"He's not mad at us, but he's most likely annoyed at Cyborg and Beast Boy." Raven growled while giving the boys a small but pronounced glare.

"We can't help he doesn't like to joke around." The green teenager shrugged off as if it was nothing.

"You should know better." Raven snapped at Beast Boy who jumped in alarm at the girl's tone of voice. "You know how he gets when that subject and while you think you're joking around and being funny, you're actually acting like immature jerks."

The boys decided not to respond to that and choose to instead stay silent before Raven decided to throw and lock them outside for the night.

There was a few moments of silence before the door opened and Robin walked in silently grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Oh joy! Robin, you have come out of your room, do you wish to-"

" Not now Star." The teen mumbled before leaving just as quiet as he came in.

"I'm going to talk to him." Raven stated as she stood up. Starfire eagerly followed until Raven turned around shaking her head. "Alone."

The girl walked until she was in front of Robin's door pausing as she heard him growl a few things. Without further hesitation she knocked.

"Go away."

"Robin, it's me." Raven replied not surprised when the door opened automatically.

She stepped in and the door closed sealing them inside.

"I already know you're going to try to make new forget about the subject and you are going to try to get me to come back out there, but I can't. I need to stay ready for when he attacks."

"I understand, and I didn't come here with the mindset to change you, you have your own feelings and you need to express them in your own way, but all I want to tell you is to be careful. Don't let your fear control you-"

"I'm not scared of him." Robin replied with a small laugh. "I'm anything but afraid of him."

"I never said you were afraid of him. I just said you were afraid. I know you fear for the safety of the city and the people inside, we all do. But the difference between us is you're also afraid of disappointing someone." Raven noticed Robin stiffen at her words and paused to let them sink in. "But that doesn't mean you should stay in your room writing."

"So what? You're on their side of this argument?"

"No." Raven looked Robin in the eye. "I am not in their side, but I'm not on yours either and neither is Starfire. She doesn't understand how her words are effecting you, she is just trying to fit in with the boys. We'll be on your team as long as you can control yourself."

Raven turned away and left leaving Robin to think to himself for a while.

It was no surprise that when she reached the living room, Starfire was already asking questions about Robin, and should she bake the cake to make him happy.

After Raven had gotten the alien girl to calm down she mediated, trying to calm herself down as well. It angered her that the boys didn't even care about Robin, and Raven was afraid that I'd she didn't mediate more, one of them was going to lose their head.

* * *

They all heard it, loud and clear. It sent a wave of minor panic through them all as an alarm sounded.

Silently Raven hoped it wasn't Slade, and that they'd be okay for another day, but fate had other plans. The report just said of a masked man who had an army of more masked men breaking into an empty warehouse.

It was enough to cause a panic.

Robin insisted he was okay, and he just wanted to get this over with, but Raven had a feeling...

She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was off in the leader's "reassuring" smile, something she hadn't seen in a long time.

**Just thought I'd say sorry if it was boring, and action will come up soon, and sorry if the characters are off and the story's too predictable. Anyway, reviews are nice and everyone I read a comment I smile because I know someone took time to read my stupid story!**


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